The Connection Between Dairy Products And Snoring

When we or a person we lovesnores, we often try and do everything we can to remedy the problem. Stoppingthe snoring by discovering its cause can become a futile mission if we aren'tlooking in the right direction.  Ifexercise, dieting, or natural health aids haven't won the snoring war it mightbe time to look in another direction. The answer to quieting the rumblings of asnorer might be in that glass of milk they had with their dinner.

Milk contains materials thatcan produce mucous in some people.  There's an old wives tale that suggests that if you have a head cold youshouldn't drink milk.  The reasoning is thatthe milk will contribute to the build-up of mucous that is already present andmake the person suffering from the cold that much worse.  Their nose becomes stuffier, their chestmight feel congested and it becomes more difficult to breathe. 

It's that idea that leadssome people to avoid the consumption of dairy products before bed.  They believe that if they drink a glass ofwarm milk to help them fall asleep, that sleep with be riddled with the soundsof snoring.  The milk producing mucouswhich becomes lodged within the throat passage and causes a narrowing whichleaves less room for breathing, hence the resulting noise we refer to assnoring.

If you are dining later andconsuming milk it might be worth noting if you snore that night or if you snorewhen normally you don't.  If you do discoverthat this is true, than the next step would obviously be to restrict your dairyintake or to consume products from the dairy family earlier in the day so yourbody has time to digest them before bedtime. If you rely on the milk you aredrinking with your evening meal as a form of daily calcium, perhaps trydrinking it with breakfast or lunch instead.  Those few hours might make all the difference in whether or not yousnore. 

Adults aren't the only oneswho snore.  Often you can hear yourinfant or child while they sleep. Their breathing perhaps not as loud as yourspouses when they are snoring, but it's evident that the subtle drone comingfrom your offspring is snoring in some form.  The idea that milk and dairy products contribute to snoring is illustratedby the fact that children do snore.  Theyconsume, on average, more milk than most adults.  For a child who tends to develop mucousbuild-up their breathing might be even more pronounced after they've had adinner that included several servings of dairy products.